Saberi treated at prison hospital, court to hear appeal

New York,
May 5, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the
well-being of convicted Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been
treated
at Evin Prison's hospital during a hunger strike to protest her confinement, according
to international news reports. A spokesman for the Iranian judiciary said today
that a court of appeals will hear Saberi's case next week, Reuters reported.

Reza Saberi, Roxana's father, told CNN that she was treated
at the prison hospital on Friday and was fed intravenously. He added that she
was "weak and frail" when she saw her on Monday.

The law firm headed by Nobel Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi
agreed to represent Saberi during her appeals process but attorneys from the
firm were blocked from meeting with Saberi, which would have allowed her to sign
documents that would officially make them part of her legal defense team, on no
less than six occasions, according to Ebadi. Iranian law guarantees that anyone
accused of a crime has the right to choose their own legal representatives. In
addition, all legal proceedings in the case have been held behind closed doors contrary
to Article 168 of the Iranian Constitution, which states that "political and
press offenses will be tried openly and in the
presence of a jury, in courts of justice."

"We are concerned about the health of Roxana Saberi and call
on authorities to ensure that she receives adequate medical care and is held
under suitable conditions," said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program
Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem. "We are confused by the closed-door legal
proceedings, which are contrary to Iranian law. We hope that next week's
hearing at the court of appeals will be conducted in a fair and transparent
manner and that Saberi will soon be released."

Saberi was detained in January after initially being accused
of purchasing wine and working as a journalist without proper accreditation. However,
a Revolutionary Court
convicted her of espionage
on April 18 and sentenced her to eight years in prison.

For the last six years, Saberi has lived in Iran and
reported for international news organizations such as National Public Radio,
the BBC, and ABC News until her press credentials were revoked in 2006.
However, she continued to file short news items with government permission,
according to NPR.

On March 9, CPJ delivered a petition
singed by more than 10,000 people worldwide in support of Saberi to the Islamic
Republic of Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

At
least two journalists have died at Evin Prison in the last six years amid
circumstances that have not been fully explained, CPJ research shows. In March,
Omidreza Mirsayafi, a blogger serving ‎a 30-month
sentence on a charge of insulting religious figures, died under unexplained
circumstances. Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died in 2003 from
injuries sustained from a beating at Evin Prison. She had been imprisoned
because she took pictures outside the prison compound.